Caps acquire defenseman

The Washington Capitals acquired defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Boston Bruins yesterday for a conditional draft choice.

With three regular members of the defense corps out of the lineup because of injuries, the Caps picked up Jurcina, a 23-year old from Slovakia, for what the Associated Press reported is a fourth-round pick.

“This acquisition is consistent with what we are trying to accomplish,” Caps vice president and general manager George McPhee said in a statement. “Milan Jurcina is a young guy with some growth potential. We expect that he will help our penalty kill right away and we look forward to seeing how else he can help us in the long term.”

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 233 pounds, Jurcina has two goals and an assist in 40 games for the Bruins this season and will join the team today in Pittsburgh. Jurcina, who is making $500,000 this year and will be a restricted free agent after the season, also played in 51 games last season. He was an eighth-round pick by Boston in the 2001 draft.

Jurcina joins a group of defensemen that is missing John Erskine (broken foot), Bryan Muir (broken foot) and Brian Pothier (upper body). Pothier joined Erskine and Muir on the injured reserve list yesterday. Right wing Richard Zednik, who missed the past 26 games, was activated from the list.

— Corey Masisak